The Right Place, at the Wrong Time
by raynor16
Summary: The tale of a SWAT Officer turned vampire, and his progression into a creature of the night. Not really in Hellsing universe, but it was the closest genre I could get!
1. Prologue

"Go, Go, Go," yelled Captain Morales, the SWAT Team 2 commander, on the team radio.  
"Breaching," was the reply from the point man, myself. My name is John Caplin, and I am very scared right now. Scared because we have been dealing with this series of serial killings for weeks now, and scared because the killer has followed no logical course, and has left no trace except for brutally gory rooms where the victims are. The _best_ part is that the victims are all bloodless, and that the murders have all been happening at night. Rumors have been going around the precinct about the killer being some sort of vampire, but hey, that's just a rumor right? Vampires don't exist, and this killer has made his last run of the night. Somebody said that they heard a disturbance at their neighbor's house, and they saw someone break in who looked like, well, like a vampire. Normally we would have blown them off, but the murders were so similar that the Chief sent in my team to take that freak down. Okay, the door is down, and the house is so dark that I have to switch to my night vision goggles. The room is bathed in a green glow as we fan out into the house.

"Kitchen, clear"

"Bedroom, clear"

"Living Room, clea…" one of the other SWAT officers started to say, a gurgling noise, and then nothing.

"Team, converge on that room," ordered Morales. We all move into the room to see that the man checking the section, Sergeant Walcott, is on the ground thrashing about with a man on him, right around his neck. Okay, this is way too creepy for me, aren't vampires just make-believe? I command the guy to get off Walcott, and the guy, surprisingly, looks up and stares at me with those eyes, eyes colored like the blood on his mouth. I can't move, this is too weird to be happening, I must be dreaming, except that I can't pinch myself and wake up. I can't do anything except breathe. Morales brings up his rifle and fires a burst into the man, which seems to only make the guy angry; angry enough to tear off Morales' head, literally. The rest of the team, except me because I can't move, reacts a moment later, firing into the man as well. He just laughs and, in the blink of an eye, rushes into Sergeant Grey to take off his arms. Grey screams as he goes down, the radio magnifying his shriek into ear-splitting levels. Whirling around to face Sergeant Vallen, the killer grabs him by the head and squeezes until the sickening sound of a skull being crushed is heard. The last man, besides me, a Sergeant Camoran, panics and fires full-auto into the killer until only clicks can be heard. Not realizing his peril, Camoran just stays there, firing. The killer just walks up, grabs the panicked man, and throws him, headfirst, into a wall. When Camoran hits the wall, everything below his neck slides to the ground, leaving his head and neck embedded in the wall. The killer now turns to me, and my blood turns to ice. What is he going to do with me? Why can't I move?! It can't end like this! He walks very close to me, showing me his teeth, with two elongated canines; so much for being a fairy tale, vampires. He says, "Just relax. It's not like I'm going to murder you..."


	2. Chapter 1

I open my eyes. How am I still alive? That guy tore apart the rest of my team, and yet I live. Where is he, anyway? I stand up and start to check myself to see if I am still alright. Yep, I am fine, nothing new on me. I bring my hand up to my neck, and nope, no puncture marks that I can feel. I check my watch, about 3 hours have passed since we breached into the house. Funny, why hasn't the Chief sent in a backup team if we haven't checked in? I head into the bathroom, and splash some water onto my face, and look into the mirror. What I see horrifies me; I have irises the color of blood. I smash my fist into the mirror, shattering it. Blood runs down my arm, and while I feel a slight longing to drink it, the notion is quickly quashed. What has he done to me? Whatever it is, I plan to have him pay for it! Just to be sure, I run my fingers across my teeth, and am amazed to find that they are just normal, human teeth. Maybe he didn't finish the job? Well, there is only one way to find out, and that is to step outside. It should be morning by now, because we showed up to the party around 2 AM. Right as my hand touches the doorknob, it occurs to me; if I really am a vampire and it is daylight outside, I will probably die before I can get back inside. Oh well, better dead than being a vampire. I twist the knob, and step into the light of morning. I gather that since I am not being burned to death, the vampire must have made a mistake when he tried to turn me. It is very early in the morning right now, but still bright enough to have really hurt me if I were a vampire. Wait, how do I know that sunlight is lethal to vampires? I don't remember hearing that anywhere. Okay, calm down; don't start thinking yourself into insanity. Look, there is the SWAT van… on its side. Great, how do I get back to the precinct now? I head back into the house, and start looking for something, anything that could get me out of this predicament. I check the corpses of my former associates and friends, and find, and find absolutely nothing. No radio-which reminds me, where is mine?-, no car keys, no nothing. I check the phone, which doesn't have a ringtone, and the victim- where is the victim, anyway- apparently didn't like computers or cell phones because I can't find any. Back to the victim, why couldn't we find him-or her- anywhere? Was this all just a ruse, a clever ambush? Well, I'm not paid to investigate, I'm paid to shoot and detain people. The investigation can happen later, after I get out of here. I could always just walk to the precinct, but I have no idea where I am at the moment because the van took us here. I look around, to see if there is any inspiration in this room. Wait a second, where's Walcott? He couldn't have just stood up and walked away, could he? Sure enough, his body is not here anymore, but his footprints sure are, covered in blood as they are. They lead out the door, almost as if he was trying to get me to follow them. I take a step towards the door, and suddenly a truck collides into my stomach. I can barely move for the pain, and I double up on the ground. The pain is so intense, I don't know how much longer I can stay conscious, and sure enough, I pass out.


	3. Chapter 2

Once again, I find myself on the floor. What was that about? I check my watch; apparently only a few minutes have passed. I pick myself up on to my feet, and look around. With the exception of Walcott, the corpses of my buddies are still there. What just happened to me? I walk towards the door again, this time without the ravaging pain erupting in my stomach. The doorknob turns easily in my hands, and I stride outside. Sure enough, the footprints are still there, covered in blood. Jeez, you would think that someone would have noticed them by now, but there they are, perfect impressions of shoes heading off deeper into the city. I suppose that I should follow them, seeing as how I have no other leads at the moment. I start jogging in the direction of the footprints, noticing the lack of people about at this time. It is 7 AM, and yet no-one is outside right now, strange. After what seems like a mile of following these footsteps- which have no sign of being disturbed, either- they take a turn, straight into a dark alleyway. Go figure, a dark alley, and I have no choice but to follow some godforsaken footprints into a godforsaken alleyway where I can't see anything. Probably going to get myself mugged or something. Almost the moment my full body fades into the darkness, SURPRISE; someone grabs me in an armlock, pinning my arms to my back. It's so dark in here that I can't see a thing, but I can feel the guy inching his head closer to mine. His grip is too good; I can't break it.

"Come on, you can do better than this. Relax your eyes and fight me if you want to live!" whispers my captor in my ears. Growling at him, I relax and find that, lo and behold, the alleyway is as bright as dawn. Apparently the guy is, guess who, the same killer who murdered my friends! Yelling, I break his lock and throw a vicious uppercut at his face. You can imagine my surprise when he easily grabs my fist, and yanks me to the ground. He gets in my face and just smiles with those vampiric canines of his. I sweep my legs at him in a scissor kick, knocking him to the ground. I bull rush him, and start laying punches on him, which he just seems to take like their nothing. In the midst of this, I hear him say "Stop," in a commanding voice. To my amazement, I find that I do indeed stop, and even more bizarre is the fact that he never actually spoke those words.

"Now, now, that is no way to treat your father," he says-this time using his mouth-like I am some kind of child who has been misbehaving.

"Father? My father died when I was three. I remember the funeral, too."

'That does not change the fact that I created you, making me your father whether you like it or not. Now I will not have you disrespecting your master in such a manner, and I will be treated with respect."

"As you wish, master," I reply, the words just coming out of my mouth before I can even think about what I am saying. Hmm, this is really getting crazy now. Somebody is approaching, and I can just make out his silhouette. It's Walcott! I thought he was dead.

"He is dead, at least physically," comes the-master's?- reply. He gives a slight chuckle at that last thought, leaving me wondering "What is going on?" once again.


	4. Chapter 3

"You still don't get it, do you? You AREN'T human anymore! Soon enough, you will understand," he said

"What have you done to me?"

"I have given you a gift; a very special gift. In time, you will thank me for it, if you don't die along the way, of course."  
"I'm not so sure about that."

"We'll see, we'll see," he says, finishing the conversation. It just now occurs to me that Walcott has been standing there the whole time, stock still. Why is he doing that?  
+He is not your friend anymore. He is a pawn now, _my_ pawn+ I try to ask him about what is going on, but the words stay still on the tip of my tongue.

+Use your mind, not your mouth. Just relax, and think about what you are going to say, and NO speaking! +

+What did you do to Walcott? + came my mental question, somewhat to my surprise.

+What I did to him is irrelevant. His predicament is of no concern to you. Do you understand me, child? +

+Yes, master+

+Good+ "Now we need to find somewhere a little more comfortable to stay in; get out of this sunlight," the Master said, vocally this time," Don't even think about trying to go back to your previous life, it's not yours anymore. Come along." He starts walking towards the other end of the alley. Naturally, I follow him, with Walcott close behind. About halfway up the alley, the Master –still don't know his name, if he has one- turns and walks straight into what seems to be a solid brick wall. Sure enough, as I reach it, there is a brick wall. I run my hand across it; it's a brick wall.

+Master? How do I get through? +

+Step through it, of course! +came the reply

I take a deep breath and step… into a brick wall. My head rebounds off the solid surface.

+No, no, no! You're not human anymore! Stop thinking like one and _step through the wall_! +

I stare at the wall; relaxing back into my night sight, and suddenly the wall is no longer there! I step through what must be an illusion, and into a dark chamber of sorts. The chamber itself has a Spartan appearance, showing just a solid oak door and a rough-hewn table with a few chairs. I step through the door, which is apparently unlocked. This next room appears to be much of the same; in fact it is exactly the same. Weird. I open the oak door, and step through. I find myself in a room exactly like the previous two. I look behind me, and sure enough even the entrance to the outside is there. I hear a chuckle, and the Master walks _through_ the door, without ever messing with the door. Surprised me yet again, but not as much given what has been going on.

"Still haven't learned, have we? You need to let go of human notions and accept your new heritage. Our heritage," the Master says in something of a disapproving voice," Now I want you to sleep; it aids the Change and not a word until you do sleep." He steps once again _through_ the door, leaving just me. Okay, through the door it is. I close my eyes, and take a step forward, which should have made step into the door. Bizarrely, my step continues, past the doorway, and when I open my eyes, I find myself in a somewhat small bedroom.


	5. Chapter 4

Well, _that's_ interesting; there's so much that I don't know, and wouldn't have ever known. Still doesn't change the fact that I don't _want_ to be a vampire. At least I have an actual bed and not a… coffin. That last remark draws a chuckle in my mind that's not my own. Man, I'm so tired, yawn. I look at my watch, and discover that its only 10 AM. Oh well, I think to myself as I lay on the bed and drift off to sleep. Now normally I don't dream, but this time, I'm flooded with dreams making up for lost time. My own memories flash by, mixed in with ones not my own. I see one of a man, apparently a vampire, engaged in a duel with some knights clad in red and white sashes over their plate armor. Another one shows three more vampires taking turns drinking the lifeblood of a victim. The next one shows a man-looking like the Master- being chased down a stone hallway, with three more of those white and red knights close behind. I wake up in a sweat. I glance at my watch… which is missing. Looking around, I can't seem to find my watch anywhere. Apparently my uniform is missing too, because it's been replaced by more civilian clothes. I get out of the bed, and notice for the first time my surroundings. The room I'm in is composed of a modest bed, a small table and chair, a bookcase, and the same oak door I saw in the entrance chamber. I step to the door, and open it, expecting to end up in the entryway. Again I am surprised when I enter into what appears to be a library; although far larger than any I have ever seen before. Sitting on a chair, is the Master, engrossed in a large, hardbound book. He glances up at me, and motions me to pull over a chair. I obey, and soon am sitting mere feet from him. I wait patiently for him to say something. What seems like minutes pass by, and still nothing. After what seems like an hour, I yell in frustration at him,"What is it that you want?!"  
"To teach you patience. It seems that that is a skill you were never good at," comes his response in a measured tone.  
"I waited for an hour!"  
"Try ten minutes. As a vampire, you will live for a _very_ long time if you aren't killed or starve, so patience is a necessary thing if you don't plan on going crazy."  
"Why me? Why did you have to do this to me?"  
"Maybe you were different from the rest; too unbelieving. Maybe I was in a good mood at the time. Maybe you remind me of myself, before the Change."  
"Well what is it then?" He just sighs, and continues reading his book.  
"So why do you keep calling me a vampire if I don't have any similarity to one except for my eyes" I ask.  
"Haven't figured that one out either, have we? Well, for one reason or another, the process of changing into a vampire is by no means an instant thing. The blood I gave you takes time to circulate throughout your body, and even longer to finish making the changes to it. Imagine a piece of art; the artist must first start with the background of the canvas to set the proper mood, and fill in over the background with the rest of his picture. That is what is happening to _you_."


	6. Chapter 5

"Wait, go back a second. What do you mean, 'the blood that I gave you'?"  
"You didn't seriously think that I just drained you of most of your blood and then commanded you to rise as another vampire? Look, I drained you of your blood- which was somewhat sweet for a human- and then gave a partial transfusion of mine. Before you say _anything_ about not wanting to become a vampire, this whole process won't work if you weren't willing to turn, even on a subconscious level. It's all choice, really; and you made one that has a long lasting consequence."  
"Okay, next question: How long does the Change take?"  
" It depends solely on the person. It took me about a week to fully change, but I knew what was happening to me within a day, and didn't resist at all. As you might guess, the more someone resists, the longer it takes. Now don't start getting any ideas; you _will_ change, and I will not tolerate you trying to cling on to your past life. It will only lead to pain and suffering for you and your family and friends." It is now that I truly begin to study his features; I was either too tired or occupied before. He is a somewhat average person who looks to be about 26 years old. His eyes tell a different tale though; those eyes tell of a man who has seen the passage of at least one century, although his irises, blood red as they are, are just normal irises. He face is a little angular, with high cheekbones, and have something of a gaunt look to them. He has short, black hair that goes down to his upper jaw, and is tied back into a ponytail. If it wasn't for the eyes, he wouldn't seem out of place in the city.  
"So if we have eyes the color of blood, why doesn't everyone get suspicious at that? I mean eyes like that aren't exactly common."  
"Good question. Only other vampires, for one reason or another, can see that. To the humans, our eyes are just like they were before Changing."  
"Then why could I see the color of your eyes before you killed my friends?"  
"Because I let you see them. Enough questions for tonight, we need to get you acquainted with the rest of your-our-kind. We are going to a gathering of Elders who will ask you a couple of questions. Don't disappoint me, because they won't hesitate to kill you if they don't think you are good enough." At that, he stands up, walks to the door, and waits for me to catch up. Once I reach him, he waves his hand in an arcane pass, mumbles a few words that I can't make out, and then steps through the door. I follow him in, and find that I am not in the entrance chamber, but in a sparse, unlit room with a chair at its center.  
+Sit+ commands a voice who is not my Master. I take a seat, and a bright light snaps on in my face, forcing me out of my night sight.  
+Who are you? +the same voice commands  
+My name is John Caplin, child of…+ I don't know his name!  
+You may call me William, if asked, and only then+ my Master puts in almost instantly  
+child of William+ I finish  
+Very well, child of William. What has your Master taught you of our culture? +  
+He has taught me of how I was created, of the Change, and of how we can hide amongst the humans+  
+Well it seems that your Master has taught of our culture. What is your opinion of us, now that you know? +  
+I am not sure. But it seems that it doesn't matter since I would only condemn myself if I hated vampires+  
+It appears that you have some understanding, but much more remains. Leave us, this meeting is over+


	7. Chapter 6

I stand up off the chair, and step towards the door… that isn't there anymore.  
+Master, what do I do? There isn't the door anymore+ The door reappears, and Master steps through it.  
"Patience, child; did you learn nothing?" he admonishes. He motions for me to step through the door. Once on the other side, I am left waiting for a few minutes, and then Master walks in. The door disappears behind him. "Well it seems that the Elders have decided to postpone their decision on killing you until after you Change. You should be happy, they aren't normally that benign, or quick, "he says. We are standing in the entrance chamber again, but not for long as he motions for me to follow him outside. Once outside, bathed in the moonlight, he just looks at me, with something of a grin on his face. Oh no. I am not going to do THAT! He just nods his head and continues down the alley. Hesitantly, I follow him, wondering all the while what is going to happen to me. He takes a right, then a left, straight into a dead end. Ignoring the façade, he walks right through the wall. Another illusion, I guess. I follow him through to the other side. We are in what look like an apartment building. He walks with what seems to be a singular purpose, maneuvering through the hallways without so much as person seeing us. He stops in front of one of the rooms, the numbers 101 ironically embossed on it. Opening the door, we both walk in and he turns to close the door, quietly. There is a single male in the room, his chest rising and falling in slumber.  
+Well, go on. Feed!+ he says, practically reprimanding me. Unbidden, my feet move me right up to the person. I can practically see the person's blood pumping, actually I can! Of its own accord, my head moves even closer, almost nuzzling their neck. With a slight bout of pain, I feel my canines grow longer, and I get ready to bite down. NO! I can't do this! My canines predictably shorten, and as I pull away from the person, Master just stares at me, practically dumbfounded.  
+What are you doing?! If you don't drink his blood, then you _will_ die!+ he admonishes.  
+It's a human being, not some piece of meat. I can't do it+ He walks right to me, grabs me by the throat, and pulls me towards the person; almost right against the man's neck. This close to blood, it is almost impossible to think straight. The smell is intoxicating, almost too good to resist. He releases his grip on my neck, trading it for one on the back of my head. He pushes my head even closer nearly pressing it into the neck of the man. Again, my canines grow longer at the prospect of feeding. The aroma of blood is so sweet, so _good_; no thought other than feeding can thrive in my mind. I… can't… drink…. What will he care? If anything, he'll understand that I need to do this to survive; he'll even thank me for choosing him! No… that's… not… right? I… have… to… resist…. I can feel myself being submerged by a wave of baser instincts that aren't my own. It's getting harder and harder to think; I have to get out of here, but Master is still holding my head down near the sleeping man's neck. Why not just give in; it's only a matter of time anyway at this rate? Yes? No?


	8. Chapter 7

Ohhh, the smell! The smell is too good, too sweet! Master releases his hold on the back of my head, knowing what is about to happen. In a wave of euphoria, I clamp down hard on the man's neck, blood gushing into my mouth. Right about now, I realize what I have done, but it's too late; the taste of blood is _so_ _good! _Like a heroin addict, I'm hooked and I have to have _more!_ The man is no longer sleeping now; thrashing around like that only makes more blood pump into his neck and into my mouth! I'm so hopelessly addicted at this point that the heart no longer can pump blood fast enough into my mouth, so I have to start sucking a little bit. Soon enough, even that is not enough and I suck harder and harder until the flow of liquid gold into my mouth fades into nothingness. I let go of the china-plate corpse before me and start looking for more blood in the room. Nothing! NOTHING! While I am looking, I notice Master calmly walks up to the corpse, and like there isn't a care in the world, he twists the man's neck around for a full circle, then back again the other way.  
"Come along, we have other things to do and people to see!" Master says in the tone of a father who has taught his son how ride a bike.  
I ignore him and continue looking around for more blood; I even have enough time to open the apartment door and am about to start going door to door before Master just stares at me, like he did when he murdered my associates; and once again I cannot move.  
"Okay, I realize what you just felt, I felt it too with my first feeding, but too many feedings in one area at one time will point suspicion at us, and the humans _will_ find us. Destroy us? Not at first, but there are organizations out there that _specialize_ in killing us. Now if you want to get yourself killed after you are unbound from me, by all means go right ahead; but until that time you will restrain yourself, or _I_ will destroy you. Do you understand?" Master reprimands me gently. I do a mental nod of my head, since I can't move; and Master releases the paralysis on my body. He continues through the open apartment door and back out the way we came. Moving once again with a singular purpose, he moves back to home, myself in tow. He again walks through the closed oak door, and I follow him in. We are back in the library, except perhaps a different portion of it. There is a table there, piled high with books of different bindings and ages.  
" Now I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, as good as that felt when you fed, you will have to learn control if you want to survive. When you drained him of all of his blood, you had two options: you could have given him some of your blood and done to him what I did to you or you could have left him there and let him be Claimed. The first option would not have worked, not with you still only partially Changed, and bound to me at that; which would have meant that he would have risen an hour later as a zombie of sorts, chained to your will. Unless you want to have the mental burden of controlling every person you drain, you will have to be content with only drinking a little bit at a time from them. Since you have to learn control still, you are not going to feed unless I let you. Is that perfectly clear?" Master says like a father to his child who is caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  
"Yes, Master. I have a question, though. Why do we need to drink blood to survive?"  
"We need to drink blood because our blood uses human hemoglobin as a catalyst, both to heal and to continue existence. No one has ever figured out why that is true, but suffice it to say that it is both food source and adrenaline to the vampire body. Now off to sleep with you, it is nearly morning." He walks through the closed oak door again, and so do I, although I end up back in the same bedroom as before.


	9. Chapter 8

Once again, I find that I am drained, physically, when I get into the bedroom. It's all I can do to trudge into bed, and sleep comes almost as soon as my head hits the pillow. Again, I am assaulted by dreams not my own, this time by the final dream I had last. It shows a man, obviously Master, running flat out across a stone hallway, three of those red and white knights in close pursuit. Master takes a turn, then another, trying to confuse the knights, but to no avail. The knights stay doggedly behind, but one stops and takes a bolo out of his belt. Spinning it around, he throws it at Master, simultaneously tying up and knocking Master to the ground. The knights catch up and roll Master around. His eyes are the color of blood, and the knights seem to recognize that fact. One of them, a knight of high status judging by the quality of his equipment, yells at Master, "You, Brother William, have betrayed the Order! How could you do this to us, your friends, your companions, your brothers? How could you defile the Knights Templar in such a fashion? What did we do to deserve this defiling of one of our Order? You drained the blood of your _own_ brother! We took both of you in as orphans, nothings; and you repay us like this! William, you are cast out of the Order, and your execution will be at sunrise."  
Master yells in fury, and breaks his bonds at this last statement. He throws the knights off of him, and makes a mad dash to the door. He reaches the door, and bursts through it and towards a small gate. The two guards at the gate see him coming and try to knock him to the ground, but Master bull-rushes past them and into the forest surrounding the compound. I wake up covered in sweat. I get out of bed, dressed in different clothes than before- I will have to figure out how that one works- and walk through the oak door. I am again in the library, with Master once again reading that hardbound book. I take a seat in front of him, and Master immediately addresses me, "You have been having dreams, haven't you?"  
"I have. What do they mean?"  
"Usually nothing, just dreams conjured to get you used to your new heritage. You have been having one that's about me though, haven't you?" I tell him the dream. "That was to be expected, since you and I have the same blood. That dream is a very emotionally charged part of my history, which is probably why you are dreaming it. Yes, I was once with the Knights Templar, but I was turned by a particularly powerful vampire in the process of killing it. None of us knew what had happened to me, but I did after a night. After a week, the Order found out and tried to capture me, but I managed to escape as you saw. I will leave the rest of the story up to your dreaming, because we have things to do tonight."  
I am hit by a red hot iron when he finishes, and Master just looks at me; no concern on his face. I stare up at him, silently pleading for help. The pain is even more intense than the last time, and it's all I can do to remain conscious. He ignores my pleas, continuing to look at me like I am some piece of rock or something. The last of my conscious thought is directed at that fact; why does he do nothing? Darkness overtakes me.


End file.
